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27 And the Lord said to Moses,

Say to the Israelites, When a man shall make a special vow of persons to the Lord at your valuation,

Then your valuation of a male from twenty years old to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

And if the person is a female, your valuation shall be thirty shekels.

And if the person is from five years old up to twenty years old, then your valuation shall be for the male twenty shekels and for the female ten shekels.

And if a child is from a month up to five years old, then your valuation shall be for the male five shekels of silver and for the female three shekels.

And if the person is from sixty years old and above, if it be a male, then your valuation shall be fifteen shekels and for the female ten shekels.

But if the man is too poor to pay your valuation, then he shall be set before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to the ability of him who vowed shall the priest value him.

If it is a beast of which men offer an offering to the Lord, all that any man gives of such to the Lord shall be holy.

10 He shall not replace it or exchange it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good; and if he makes any exchange of a beast for a beast, then both the original offering and that exchanged for it shall be holy.

11 If it is an unclean animal, such as is not offered as an offering to the Lord, he shall bring the animal before the priest,

12 And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad; as you, the priest, value it, so shall it be.

13 But if he wishes to redeem it, he shall add a fifth to your valuation.

14 If a man dedicates his house to be sacred to the Lord, the priest shall appraise it, whether it be good or bad; as the priest appraises it, so shall it stand.

15 If he who dedicates his house wants to redeem it, he shall add a fifth of your valuation to it, and it shall be his.

16 And if a man shall dedicate to the Lord some part of a field of his possession, then your valuation shall be according to the seed [required] for it; [a sowing of] a homer of barley shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.

17 If he dedicates his field during the Year of Jubilee, it shall stand according to your full valuation.

18 But if he dedicates his field after the Jubilee, then the priest shall count the money value in proportion to the years that remain until the Year of Jubilee, and it shall be deducted from your valuation.

19 If he who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it, then he shall add a fifth of the money of your appraisal to it, and it shall remain his.

20 But if he does not want to redeem the field, or if he has sold it to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more.

21 But the field, when it is released in the Jubilee, shall be holy to the Lord, as a field devoted [to God or destruction]; the priest shall have possession of it.

22 And if a man dedicates to the Lord a field he has bought, which is not of the fields of his [ancestral] possession,

23 The priest shall compute the amount of your valuation for it up to the Year of Jubilee; the man shall give that amount on that day as a holy thing to the Lord.

24 In the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to him of whom it was bought, to him to whom the land belonged [as his ancestral inheritance].

25 And all your valuations shall be according to the sanctuary shekel; twenty gerahs shall make a shekel.

26 But the firstling of the animals, since a firstling belongs to the Lord, no man may dedicate, whether it be ox or sheep. It is the Lord’s [already].

27 If it be of an unclean animal, the owner may redeem it according to your valuation, and shall add a fifth to it; or if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation.

28 But nothing that a man shall devote to the Lord of all that he has, whether of man or beast or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord.

29 No one doomed to death [under the claim of divine justice], who is to be completely destroyed from among men, shall be ransomed [from suffering the death penalty]; he shall surely be put to death.

30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.(A)

31 And if a man wants to redeem any of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it.

32 And all the tithe of the herd or of the flock, whatever passes under the herdsman’s staff [by means of which each tenth animal as it passes through a small door is selected and marked], the tenth shall be holy to the Lord.(B)

33 The man shall not examine whether the animal is good or bad nor shall he exchange it. If he does exchange it, then both it and the animal substituted for it shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.

34 These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites.(C)

Redeeming What Is the Lord’s

27 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If anyone makes a special vow(A) to dedicate a person to the Lord by giving the equivalent value, set the value of a male between the ages of twenty and sixty at fifty shekels[a] of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel[b];(B) for a female, set her value at thirty shekels[c]; for a person between the ages of five and twenty, set the value of a male at twenty shekels[d](C) and of a female at ten shekels[e]; for a person between one month and five years, set the value of a male at five shekels[f](D) of silver and that of a female at three shekels[g] of silver; for a person sixty years old or more, set the value of a male at fifteen shekels[h] and of a female at ten shekels. If anyone making the vow is too poor to pay(E) the specified amount, the person being dedicated is to be presented to the priest, who will set the value(F) according to what the one making the vow can afford.

“‘If what they vowed is an animal that is acceptable as an offering to the Lord,(G) such an animal given to the Lord becomes holy.(H) 10 They must not exchange it or substitute a good one for a bad one, or a bad one for a good one;(I) if they should substitute one animal for another, both it and the substitute become holy. 11 If what they vowed is a ceremonially unclean animal(J)—one that is not acceptable as an offering to the Lord—the animal must be presented to the priest, 12 who will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, that is what it will be. 13 If the owner wishes to redeem(K) the animal, a fifth must be added to its value.(L)

14 “‘If anyone dedicates their house as something holy to the Lord, the priest will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, so it will remain. 15 If the one who dedicates their house wishes to redeem it,(M) they must add a fifth to its value, and the house will again become theirs.

16 “‘If anyone dedicates to the Lord part of their family land, its value is to be set according to the amount of seed required for it—fifty shekels of silver to a homer[i] of barley seed. 17 If they dedicate a field during the Year of Jubilee, the value that has been set remains. 18 But if they dedicate a field after the Jubilee,(N) the priest will determine the value according to the number of years that remain(O) until the next Year of Jubilee, and its set value will be reduced. 19 If the one who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it,(P) they must add a fifth to its value, and the field will again become theirs. 20 If, however, they do not redeem the field, or if they have sold it to someone else, it can never be redeemed. 21 When the field is released in the Jubilee,(Q) it will become holy,(R) like a field devoted to the Lord;(S) it will become priestly property.

22 “‘If anyone dedicates to the Lord a field they have bought, which is not part of their family land, 23 the priest will determine its value up to the Year of Jubilee,(T) and the owner must pay its value on that day as something holy to the Lord. 24 In the Year of Jubilee the field will revert to the person from whom it was bought,(U) the one whose land it was. 25 Every value is to be set according to the sanctuary shekel,(V) twenty gerahs(W) to the shekel.

26 “‘No one, however, may dedicate the firstborn of an animal, since the firstborn already belongs to the Lord;(X) whether an ox[j] or a sheep, it is the Lord’s. 27 If it is one of the unclean animals,(Y) it may be bought back at its set value, adding a fifth of the value to it. If it is not redeemed, it is to be sold at its set value.

28 “‘But nothing that a person owns and devotes[k](Z) to the Lord—whether a human being or an animal or family land—may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy(AA) to the Lord.

29 “‘No person devoted to destruction[l] may be ransomed; they are to be put to death.(AB)

30 “‘A tithe(AC) of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy(AD) to the Lord. 31 Whoever would redeem(AE) any of their tithe must add a fifth of the value(AF) to it. 32 Every tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod(AG)—will be holy to the Lord. 33 No one may pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution.(AH) If anyone does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.(AI)’”

34 These are the commands the Lord gave Moses at Mount Sinai(AJ) for the Israelites.(AK)

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 27:3 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams; also in verse 16
  2. Leviticus 27:3 That is, about 2/5 ounce or about 12 grams; also in verse 25
  3. Leviticus 27:4 That is, about 12 ounces or about 345 grams
  4. Leviticus 27:5 That is, about 8 ounces or about 230 grams
  5. Leviticus 27:5 That is, about 4 ounces or about 115 grams; also in verse 7
  6. Leviticus 27:6 That is, about 2 ounces or about 58 grams
  7. Leviticus 27:6 That is, about 1 1/4 ounces or about 35 grams
  8. Leviticus 27:7 That is, about 6 ounces or about 175 grams
  9. Leviticus 27:16 That is, probably about 300 pounds or about 135 kilograms
  10. Leviticus 27:26 The Hebrew word can refer to either male or female.
  11. Leviticus 27:28 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord.
  12. Leviticus 27:29 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.